Welcome to Product Management Challenges!

03012 Requirements 201: The Requirements Process

One thing I associate with product management is the need to keep marching through the many efforts required to design and build software, then launch it in the market — no matter how difficult the times. And so we have this week’s issue, as scheduled.

Respectfully,

Jacques Murphy,

• Feeling sad for the people of Iraq,
• Grieving for the lost and those who love them,
• Feeling proud of the U.S armed forces,
• Hoping for a swift return to peace,
• Reliving feelings from September 11,
• Trying to go about my daily tasks in spite of it all.

In the previous issue we “took a course” called Requirements 101 covering the Requirements document. That document is a tool produced for each release and serving as the fuel for the next round of software development work. It is the main component of the requirements effort.

Requirements 101- the Requirements Document, is the “prerequisite” for this week’s course.

In addition to the Requirements document, the process of researching, soliciting, gathering, defining, prioritizing and communicating requirements rounds out the whole requirements effort. The process serves to ensure that the Requirements document attains the right level of quality, and that development output matches the business needs and priorities expressed in the Requirements document.

You can rely on the process to make a painstaking component of product management run a little more smoothly.

Read on for the steps to follow for a successful Requirements process, and for overall guidelines on it.

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03011 Requirements 101: The Requirements Document

Today’s issue is the first of two topics covering product requirements.

Requirements, as the fuel that powers your company’s software development engine, are an essential part of product management. Without this fuel, development doesn’t happen. Too little or too much, too sparse or too rich — all lead to a poorly running engine. It is essential that you as a Product Manager master product requirements.

Because this is such a big topic, today’s issue will discuss the Requirements document, while next week we will cover the Requirements process.

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03010 Pitfalls of the Paper Document Culture

We’re all familiar with the problems that come from not documenting requirements, designs, plans, and expectations. You wind up with slipped deadlines and disappointment. Most of us have learned the hard way that we’re better off writing down important agreements and plans.

In fact, so much of product management depends upon written documents to spell out needs and plans. Documents are critical to product management.

But I also see a problem with relying too much on documents such as requirements, development plans, test plans, analysis and reports to carry most or all of the burden of communicating important demands, agreements, and results across the organization. I call this the Paper Document Culture.

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03009 Cutting the Cost of Services and Support

Most experienced accountants will tell you that if you want to improve your company’s financial situation, you get the fastest success by cutting costs as opposed to trying to increase revenues. It’s a sure thing to take money you have today but would spend and keep it in your pocket, rather than aim for a goal of making more money that may never materialize.

The same holds true for improving the financial position of your software product. If you want better profitability next quarter, rather than next year, look at building in functionality that cuts costs.

Not that you ever want to stop adding enhancements that will make your product sell better. But when you reap the financial rewards for more competitive features no sooner than a year from now, you also need to focus on adding features that cut costs.

Use the tips below to find ways to change your product so that your company saves money.

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